Germany’s domestic intelligence service has the right to monitor the populist far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as part of its mission to monitor extremism, a Cologne court ruled on Tuesday.
The AfD is the country’s most right-wing party represented in parliament and has been described as a “suspicious entity” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) due to concerns about growing radicalization, especially within its youth organization.
The AfD had appealed to the court to stop what it called a “politically motivated” investigation, arguing that the categorization would amount to a ban. They also claimed that the controversial far-right “Flügel” (wing) of the party had already disbanded two years ago.
But the Cologne Administrative Court found that there was more than enough evidence that the AfD supported an unconstitutional ethnic conception, which the service considers incompatible with human dignity, as guaranteed by the German Basic Law. The judges ruled that even though Flügel had been formally disbanded, its members were still active and influential within the party, and that the Junge Alternative (JA) youth organization held xenophobic notions similar to those of Nazi Germany for decades. before.
AfD President Tino Cruppalla said the party was “surprised” by the verdict, but promised to investigate all legal avenues to appeal.
First in post-war history
Although there are still some legal hurdles to overcome before allowing the BfV to use whistleblowers or surveillance measures such as wiretapping, the decision marks the first time in post-war Germany that such a large party – the AfD – is represented in the European Parliament. , the Bundestag, as well as all state legislatures – will be monitored by intelligence agents.
Following the verdict, BfV President Thomas Haldenwang spoke of a “good day for democracy”.
“The party is defending racism, the party is defending the exclusion of minorities, the party is defending contempt for the social system,” Haldenwang told the public broadcaster. ZDF. “That’s why it’s important that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution be able to talk about this party again after a year of silence.”
In the past, the BfV had investigated members of the Left Party on suspicion that they intended to replace the existing economic, political and social order with a socialist or communist system, but these investigations came to naught. He also infiltrated the neo-Nazi NPD with so many informants that the case for the party’s final ban was rejected due to concerns that there were more spies in the party than loyal members.
The fall for AfD members
The verdict could have direct consequences for AfD members in public administration, says DW political correspondent Hans Pfeiffer.
“There are members of the party who are civil servants, police officers, prosecutors, teachers, judges,” Pfeiffer said.
The ruling could also have an impact on AfD lawmakers in the Bundestag. Government and opposition lawmakers were quick to point out that members of a party suspected of violating the constitution would face a conflict of interest if they participated in committees overseeing the country’s intelligence services.
The chairman of the Bundestag’s parliamentary control body, Roderich Kiesewetter of the main opposition party, said the center-right Christian Democratic Party (CDU) ZDF“If this decision is confirmed, it will not be possible for a party that has been identified as a suspect to be a member of the Parliamentary Audit Board that oversees the federal government intelligence services.”
Charlotte Knobloch, the former chairwoman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, described Tuesday’s verdict as “a victory for the defending constitutional state and a clear sign that democracy must not stand idly by and watch the machinations of its opponents.” He told the daily FAZ that it was a sign “that all people can live safely and without fear in Germany. If a party borrows from National Socialism and is openly linked to the enemies of democracy at home and abroad, then the institutions of its sovereignty the law must be able to monitor it closely. “
Knobloch said she hoped this would also help influence voters: “I hope the AfD voters will finally realize who they sent to parliament.”
But DW’s Hans Pfeifer is less optimistic. Although the verdict may make it difficult for AfD supporters to claim to be a major conservative party, the verdict could be used to the party’s advantage, playing in their narrative that “this is just another way the government is trying to suppress opposition. “
“They can overthrow it, as alt-right in the United States does,” Pfeifer said. out for them “.
This article has been updated and expanded since its publication.
Darko Janjevic and Mark Hallam contributed to the exhibition.
Edited by: Rina Goldenberg
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